Isolation and characterization of microbial strains with hydrolytic enzyme profile from clay minerals

Abstract

A total of 262 bacterial strains were isolated from clay minerals, bentonite and zeolite, in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea, and their hydrolytic enzyme activities were analyzed. Most of the isolated strains belonged to Micrococcales and Bacillales order. Of strains, 96 strains produced α-amylase activity, 42 strains showed cellulase activity, 111 strains had pectinase activity, and 70 strains showed protease activity. Among them, 177 isolates exhibited one or more of the hydrolytic enzyme activities and in particular Bacillus cereus MBLB1321, B. albus MBLB1326 and KIGAM017, B. mobilis MBLB1328, MBLB1329 and MBLB1330 showed all of the enzyme activities. These results demonstrate the diversity of functional Bacillus species in clay minerals as vital sources for the discovery of industrially valuable hydrolytic enzymes, which have a great commercial prospect in various bio-industrial applications.